HopSkipDrive, an Uber-like ride service for kids, launches in Orange County

April 1, 2016

Updated April 2, 2016 8:18 a.m.

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HopSkipDrive, an Uber-like ride service for kids, will launch April 5 in Orange County. All drivers are certified, fingerprinted, and have at least five years of child care experience. Jeff Bender HopSkipDrive

HopSkipDrive, an Uber-like ride service for kids, will launch April 5 in Orange County. All drivers are certified, fingerprinted, and have at least five years of child care experience. Jeff Bender HopSkipDrive

1 of 5

HopSkipDrive, an Uber-like ride service for kids, will launch April 5 in Orange County. All drivers are certified, fingerprinted, and have at least five years of child care experience. Jeff Bender HopSkipDrive

1 of 5

HopSkipDrive, an Uber-like ride service for kids, will launch April 5 in Orange County. All drivers are certified, fingerprinted, and have at least five years of child care experience. Jeff Bender HopSkipDrive

HopSkipDrive, an Uber-like ride service for kids, will launch April 5 in Orange County. All drivers are certified, fingerprinted, and have at least five years of child care experience. Jeff Bender HopSkipDrive

An Uber-like ride service for kids will launch Tuesday in Orange County.

HopSkipDrive is designed to transport children age six and up. All drivers are certified, fingerprinted, and must be at least 23 years old, clear a background check, have five years of childcare experience (such as being a parent, nanny, nurse or teacher) and provide references.

“We do more than most parents do to vet a babysitter,” said Joanna McFarland, co-founder and chief executive of the Los Angeles-based company. “It’s about getting from point A to point B reliably and with someone with experience working with kids.”

Here’s how it works: Busy parents use the company’s website or app to schedule a ride for their children as far in advance as they want, or with at least eight hours notice.

Once a ride is scheduled, parents will receive information about the HopSkipDrive driver.

Drivers follow special instructions, like signing a child in or out of a location, or walking them from the car to an activity. The ride can be tracked in real time on the company’s mobile app.

Customers pay $14-20 for short rides. Rides more than five miles long or that last more than 30 minutes have additional charges.

There is no membership fee or rate increase during busy times. There are no rules regarding maximum travel distance. All cars have booster seats.

HopSkipDrive has already served thousands of Los Angeles families. Orange County is the ride service’s next stop. McFarland added that the service likely will expand further.

The service was created by three moms: McFarland, Carolyn Yashari Becher and Janelle McGlothlin.

“So many parents are so busy today trying to make it all work,” McFarland said. “Sixty percent of kids live with parents who all work outside of the home. There’s not a great solution. Carpooling each kid for each activity can fall apart. We can provide a reliable solution that provides parents with peace of mind.”

Kelly Aluise, a Los Angeles mother, started using the service last school year to get her daughter home from swim practice.

Instead of having to leave her job as a real estate agent early, Aluise said she is able to stay late and further her career.

“I can get more work done and make more money. I don’t know what I would do without HopSkipDrive,” she said.

She now uses the service three times a week, which she estimated costs her around $50. She said she has never felt like her daughter was unsafe while using the service which she described as “like Uber for kids, but it’s vetted much more carefully.”

HopSkipDrive drivers are independent contractors, a business model that has come under fire elsewhere.

A handful of companies, including Uber and Amazon Prime, have been sued by workersfor classifying them as independent contractors instead of employees, therefore denying benefits and wages employees would earn. In July 2015, FedEx Ground agreed to create a $228 million fund to resolve a suit alleging misclassification of workers as independent contractors.

McFarland said HopSkipDrive’s drivers use the service for supplemental income and set their own hours.

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